Trio
by Forgotten Cat
Summary: Embry, Quil, and Jacob hang out and get into trouble - like they do. But why is Bella acting so weird?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: All characters and the world of "Twilight" belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing—nothing! Not even a car.**

A/N _This is a plot bunny I had kicking around for a while – I hope you enjoy it. It's just slice of life stuff during the time-stretchy fluid __**Eclipse**__ I like to write in. Eventual Jacob/Bella because that is how I roll plus LOTS of wolf pack being their awesome selves._

_Oh and Jacob quotes __**South Park **__at some point – you'll know it (I hope.)_

Jim Nabors.

Charles Magnante & the Mullen Sisters.

Bach's Mass in B Minor.

Embry sighed as he flipped through the final record in the stack, a copy of "Trio," the cover of which featured Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Rondstant beaming magnanimously. Vintage metal, old school rap, and weird percussion records from the 60s were the goal – the reality was the beatific smiles and big hair of Dolly, Emmylou, and Linda. Still, there were treasures to be found at the Salvation Army Store and Embry carried his stack of worn paperbacks and a T-shirt decorated with a picture of 1980s wrestler Brutus 'the barber' Beefcake, whose bow-tied visage had caught his eye, to the register for old Mrs. Delaskus to ring up.

"That's 5.23, hun."

"That much? Shi—shoot. I only have 4.50." Embry did some quick mental calculations, if he put back three paperbacks and walked instead of taking the bus home, he would have enough for the T-shirt and the Jack Vance books, including the promisingly titled 'Palace of Love.'

Mrs. Delaskus put everything in a plastic bag and offered him a peppermint with his change.

"I'll eat it later," he said and put it in his pocket with his coins.

"See you next week, hun." She gave him a small but kind smile. "I'll keep aside any of those robot or spaceship books for you if I see them."

"Thanks, Mrs. D. See you." Embry gave her a wave and twirled his plastic bag full of goodies as he headed out the door.

The weather looked like it was about to turn and Embry decided to take the short cut through the woods instead of walking along the road in hopes that somebody would stop to pick him up on his way back to the rez. Besides, in the woods he could run without people staring. Not that they did. He just felt self-conscious running around Forks even if he wasn't half-nude, like Jake was all the time. Some people had a little dignity.

Embry smelled the change in the air before it started - big drops of rain started plipping down. In a few minutes it would be pouring and he would have to cross the rez to get home. He didn't mind getting wet but his books would be ruined. The Black house was close, though. Jake and Quil had detention for the whole week due to an unfortunate incident in which Quil thought he spotted a leech out back behind the gym and ran off with Jake during fifth period to chase it, leaving behind their clothes and, more importantly, missing a crucial presentation on Alexander Hamilton.

"They weren't missing much, believe me," Quil had said with a resigned grin. "Jake was going to rip his shirt off and get the girls to stick some twenty dollar bills down his shorts."

"Was there even a leech?" asked Embry wishing, not for the first time, that he had been smarter about being smart and had stuck back in the regular classes.

"Yes," said Quil at the same time that Jake said, "No!"

They looked at each other.

Quil shrugged. "Well, she _could_ have been a leech – I just wanted to make sure. I mean, if _you_ want to take chances with Bella's safety that's up to you. I, on the other hand, feel obligated to follow up every lead."

Embry choked back giggles as Jake's face grew redder and redder.

"If you care so much about Bella," Jacob spit out, "Why didn't you care about how I'm supposed to protect her while I'm in detention for scaring some substitute teacher?"

"Don't start hating on the wolf instincts, dude – we're wild animals. You can't tame this." Quil tapped his chest boastfully. "I'm not responsible for what happens in the heat of the fight."

"If anything happens to Bella…" growled Jacob.

Embry had defused the fight by asking for more details about their aborted Alexander Hamilton project, which had caused both Quil and Jacob to gang up and tease Embry for being a nerd. But that had been Thursday and now it was Tuesday and the garage was empty as Embry sprinted up to it and ducked inside just as the rain hit hard, the drops rattling the tin roof.

The garage was like a second home to Embry, not that he would ever admit it, but with his mom gone so often for work or, worse, gone off drinking, it was nice to have another place to get away to. Embry pulled a warm Coke from the carton in the corner and flopped down on the couch with his paperbacks.

"Maybe Jake will give me a ride home," yawned Embry as he stretched out. And he even managed to read half a chapter of 'Palace of Love' before his eyes got heavy and he settled into a nice doze.

When Embry opened his eyes again, there was a small, white solemn face in front of them.

"'Sup, Bella," he said closing his eyes again and rolling over with a certain finality. "Jake's not here and I don't know shit about fixing cars."

He could here her standing there, breathing and fidgeting. She walked away a couple steps and Embry was sure that she had given up but then she stopped. "Where did he go?" It came out all in a rush, as clumsy as she was herself.

Embry didn't even open his eyes as he told her the lie that would get him into trouble. "He's with his girlfriend."

"Oh." Silence. "I didn't know." Her voice twisted tightly in his ears.

"I'll tell him you stopped by."

Bella didn't say anything else as she ran out the door and into the rain, which was still tapping gently on the roof. And Embry stilled the stirrings of guilt by imagining how happy Jake would be once Bella stopped hanging around and torturing him. The girl ran with vampires; she wouldn't die if her pet dog got taken away.

Jacob did give Embry a ride home, eventually. It was still raining.

"Thanks for the ride, dude," said Embry as they turned down the road towards his house.

"You've got to work on that 'at one with the elements' thing if you want to really wolf properly."

"I'm one of those modern wolves – I shit in a toilet, can kick your butt at Mario Kart, and don't have to sign my name with an 'X'."

"You've never taken a dump outside? As a wolf?"

"You would know," Embry rolled his eyes. " We're all up each other's butts with that pack mind anyway."

Jacob started giggling. "You totally hold it in until you can phase back!"

"Shut up!" said Embry, blushing, but it was too late as the giggles turned to great gulping laughs. Embry grinned. Jacob's moods were irresistible when he got like this. "You're going to crash the car." He kept a straight face, but barely.

"When we go on patrol tomorrow," Jacob paused to catch his breath, "I'm not going to be able to not think about this. Just so you know."

"Fine," sighed Embry with a faux-weariness. "But then I'm going to think about Be—" He caught himself, "—bananas."

Jacob pulled into Embry's driveway. The light was on the in the living room and the faint glow of the TV shined welcomingly from the window.

"Bananas?"

"Yeah, I don't know where that came from." Embry shrugged and started to open the door. "Hey, is that thing still on for this weekend?"

"The bonfire? Hell, yeah! Are you in for the keg? 'Don't you know the first law of physics? Anything that's fun costs at least eight dollars'."

"Sure, sure… I'll get some money from my mom."

"Sweet. See ya."

Embry tucked his bag of books under his shirt and ran inside.

"He's with his girlfriend," Bella repeated to herself as she tried to work up the energy to move from the cab of the truck back into her house. She didn't like him like that anyways, so she should be happy.

"Jacob has a girlfriend." She tried saying the words in a firm tone of voice.

"Girlfriend." The formerly innocuous word felt heavy in her mouth and left an empty pit in her stomach. For all that she pushed aside his attentions when they were inconvenient, Bella had gotten used to the idea that Jacob would be around whenever Edward wasn't – a backup so she wouldn't have to be alone.

Bella chastised herself for being so selfish. She had already made her choice but still she couldn't quite shake the small voice that whined, "And I thought Jake had chosen me."

With a world-weary sigh, Bella scraped her arm as she hopped down from the truck, ripped the knee of her jeans as she tripped on the walk up to the house, and then broke her key in the front door.

"If I was a vampire, I wouldn't have to use keys," she muttered, blinking back tears of frustration. "I could just open the door." She rattled the handle on each word but the door refused to budge.

She stared at it - the immovable object.

"If I was a vampire you would be splinters, door – just scraps of wood."

The door said nothing.

"I wouldn't even need a door, actually." Bella's voice grew louder. "I would just hunt animals and live in the woods."

A gust of wind kicked up and spattered her back. Bella swung around, furious. "And rain wouldn't bother me – it would just make me run faster." The wind blew her hair into her mouth and she sputtered a bit as Charlie's cruiser pulled into view. Her tirade against the elements was forgotten in the moment, overcome by relief at seeing a rescuer. She pulled up her hood and ran down to the driveway to great him.

"Bells, what the heck is going on, now? Do we need an ambulance?" Charlie had one foot in the idling cruiser and was leaning over the door his face full of concern.

"I broke the key in the lock - I'm sorry." She choked on the last word. Now Charlie was going to have to call a locksmith and they would be stuck outside and nobody would get dinner and it was all her stupid, human fault.

"Is that all?" Charlie shook his head and climbed back into the cruiser to shut down the engine. "The way you were running with that bloody leg, I thought you'd have severed an artery or something."

Bella looked down and saw that the rip in her jeans came with a nasty scraped knee. Now, the copper smell hit her nose and she began to feel lightheaded. Bella took a step back to steady herself as Charlie slammed the cruiser door shut.

"Now don't go fainting on me. We need to get that knee cleaned up and while you might weigh a couple pounds short of nothing, it's a couple pounds too much for this old back."

"But—the door—" A couple of tears slid down her cheeks and mixed with the rain.

"A door isn't a door if it won't open," said Charlie, "We'll go in the back way, come on, now. I'll call about the door tomorrow. I haven't seen Roy in a while, anyways."

They went around back and Bella watched as Charlie took the key from its hiding place and opened the back door. Her dark mood turned darker as embarrassment at her own stupidity was added to the catalog of sins the day had racked up.

Charlie shuffled a bit as he let her into the back hallway, "Sweetheart, I know 'Dad Wisdom' is the last thing you want right now and know you're real single-minded about things but sometimes it's worth remembering that there is more than one way to skin a cat."

Bella scrunched up her face at the analogy and Charlie gave a small chuckle. "Well, I didn't mean a real cat." He patted her on the shoulder and wandered in to the kitchen to get a beer.

Bella just stood dripping water into the hallway with a sour look on her face. Why did Edward have to pick _this_ weekend to go hunting and leave her all by herself? He would have swooped in and opened the door for her. He would have stopped her from going to La Push. He would be in her room right now.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said to nobody in particular.

The warm water washed away some of Bella's cranky feelings but she still felt icky. Bella wrapped herself in towel and put on her terrycloth bathrobe with the hood. Steam from the shower fogged up the bathroom mirror and she wiped it off with a sleeve. The bathroom lights refracted the light a little bit and if she squinted, she could pretend that she had skin like diamonds.

Bella reached out her damp hand to touch the cool mirror. She pressed her palm against it and the Bella in the mirror did the same thing. Bella stared at herself, her features becoming sharper and more distinct the more she looked at them - the little hairs on her face, a drop of water making its way down her collarbone.

Human.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: All characters and the world of "Twilight" belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing—nothing! Not even a car.**

A/N _This is a plot bunny I had kicking around for a while – I hope you enjoy it. It's just slice of life stuff during the time-stretchy fluid __**Eclipse**__ I like to write in. Eventual Jacob/Bella because that is how I roll plus LOTS of wolf pack being their awesome selves._

_The song used is Motorhead's "The Hammer."_

_Embry quotes Darth Vader._

_Don't try to run, don't try to scream,_

_Believe me the Hammer's going to smash your dream_.

Distorted guitar crunched up from the stereo.

_I'm in your life, just might be in your wife,_

_Could be behind your back, I might be on your track._

There wasn't much room for elaborate air guitar moves on this song, but Embry thrashed around his room anyway. He had rescued "Ace of Spades" from a pile of Joe Blackcloud's stuff his mom was going to trash but because of certain restrictions about 'playing that god-damned racket when [his mother] was trying to sleep' meant that Embry could only play Motorhead when his mom wasn't home. Metal just doesn't sound good at a low volume.

_And it might be true, just might be onto you—_

An off-tempo banging on the window interrupted Embry's air-shredding. Quil was standing outside in the late afternoon light—shirtless and eating a lime popsicle. He gave a green-lipped grin and gestured for Embry to come outside.

"What?" mouthed Embry, switching to air drums. "I can't hear you."

Quil hooded his eyes and pursed out his lips in his approximation of a 'rock face' and began wailing on an invisible guitar.

_I'm shooting out your lights, you bring eternal night,_

_And your eternal tricks begin to make me sick._

Lime green popsicle dripped down Quil's hand but the two kept up their duet until the record clicked off. Embry gave a bow towards the window while Quil licked his fingers.

"Do you want to wash your hands?" Embry asked, opening the window.

"We're just going to phase." Quil shrugged. "Here, throw this out." He tried to hand his popsicle stick to Embry through the window.

"Where's Black, anyways?" Embry ignored the sticky wooden implement being aimed in his direction.

"You're not happy to see me? I'm crushed." Quil pretended to jab himself in the stomach with his popsicle stick and slice out his entrails.

Embry clenched the air with his hand and made a serious face. "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Quil switched from hari kiri to choking and finally collapsed in a grand heap on the ground. "Billy was having chest pains. Jake took him to IHS."

"Dude!" Embry stuck his head out of the window to look down at Quil, who was stretched out with his arms behind his head. "Is he okay?"

"I don't think it's too serious. Anyway, he asked me to fill in on patrol. I was going to go to Miami to sit on the beach but what the hell—duty calls, right?"

"Yeah—our tragic fate. No Miami vacations."

"The Cullens should buy us a freaking beach house on Miami Beach for saving the world from Bella." Quil rolled his eyes. "I'll meet you out back, dude. Time to be superheroes."

Embry smiled to himself as he shut the window. He was better friends with Jacob but the benefit of hanging out with Quil these days was that they could complain about Bella. And they did. Embry stripped off his own T-shirt, locked the house up, and ran around the back where the tree cover grew heavy enough to keep away the eyes of prying neighbors. There was always somebody watching and Embry didn't want his mother knowing any more about his extracurricular activities than was strictly necessary.

Quil was already there, crouched down, tying his shorts to his ankle with a piece of cord.

"Clothes are such a pain in the ass," he said with a sigh.

"Ah, dude!" Embry covered his eyes with his forearm. "Stop flashing your junk around! I don't need to see all that."

"I'm just living the free life—the life of the wolf," Quil stood up and stretched with a fluid motion that brought his arms back down covered in fur. "Stop being so uptight," he said with an amused growl.

Embry turned around and slid his own cut-offs down his thin frame and made quick work of tying them around his ankle and phased.

There wasn't much bloodsucker activity around the rez border. The stench of Edward (or _Deadturd_ as Quil liked to call him) hung around near where the main road crossed the border and there were some trails left by a few of the other Cullens, probably either hunting deer for a snack. Or stalking Bella. The Cullens left a sweeter, more domesticated stink than the other vampires and Quil and Embry didn't stop to investigate further. The less they had to do with those freaks of nature, the better.

It was growing dark by the time to the two wolves looped back towards Embry's house.

_We should probably do a run into town to check on Bella._ Quil slowed down as they approached the cluster of houses.

_Yeah—for Jake's sake. Although—_ Embry's conversation with Bella from the day before replayed itself in his mind.

"_He's with his girlfriend…I'll tell him you stopped by."_

Quil's gait faltered a bit as he gave a bark of laughter. _Jake is going to flip his shit when he hears about this._

_Not if he never hears about it. _Embry tried to give Quil a nip on the side._ The plan was that Bella would either put up or shut up._

_Well, your secret is safe with me as long as I remember I'm not supposed to tell it._ Quil dodged his nip and returned the favor by ramming Embry into some bushes.

Embry shook the leaves from his gray fur and let out a long sigh. _Let's just get this over with—the sooner we check on Little Miss Sunshine, the sooner we can have a snack._

_Sounds good to me, dude._ Quil gave a howl of agreement and took off running towards Forks with Embry's silver-gray form close on his heels.

Bella pulled the crumpled grocery list out of her pocket.

She had spent the day resolutely trying to Not Think About Things – things that shouldn't matter to her, like how certain people now have girlfriends – and while Not Thinking About Things, Bella had done all her homework for the week, organized her desk, and wrote out a new recipe to try for dinner tonight – chicken enchiladas, a little taste of Phoenix

_Chicken_

_Tortillas_

_Chili Powder…_

The automatic doors opened with a whoosh and the sterile air of the grocery store came out in a puff. Bella grabbed a cart and started off in search of ingredients. Some people might just go right for what they wanted but Bella stuck to the same pattern every time, go through the produce and down the back by the dairy, venturing up aisles only if she needed something, and always finishing by the frozen foods where she looked at – but never purchased – the ice cream.

She picked out some green onions while Not Thinking about how she might never eat chicken enchiladas again once she was turned.

She browsed the spices, contemplating how much heat Charlie could take while Not Thinking about the time Jacob put red pepper flakes all over their pizza as an "experiment" and had to drink two sodas, one after the other, to get the taste out of his mouth.

Thankfully, the grocery store had begun stocking a small selection of Mexican foods as a nod towards the growing Latino community in the area and Bella had no problem finding tortillas while Not Thinking about how Edward wouldn't be back for another few days and that every moment she stayed with Charlie, she was putting them both in danger.

Bella was so caught up in Not Thinking that she almost tripped on the curb while walking with her grocery bags out to the truck. Her foot hit a patch of nothing but before she could take a face plant, a pair of warm hands steadied her shoulders and another pair caught her groceries before they hit the ground.

"'Sup, Bella," said a voice from behind.

She was looking into the smiling face of Quil, who was gleefully poking through her grocery bags. "What'cha making?"

"Quil?" Bella blinked, not focusing on the shirtless Quileute standing in front of her.

"And Embry," said Quil. Bella felt the warm hands still on her shoulders and shook them off.

Embry came around and leaned on the metal divider. "We were getting sodas," he said.

"You, um, need shirts to go in the store," stuttered Bella.

"I could use yours," said Quil. "Although it might be a little small—"

"We were just hitting the vending machines," said Embry with a smirk, "but thanks for the concern."

Bella blushed and changed the subject. "I was going to make chicken enchiladas, so I needed—thanks for catching me."

"Where did you park?" Quil was using Bella's groceries as weights and doing some increasingly ridiculous arm curls.

"Do you need a ride?" Bella shuffled her feet a bit. She didn't meet Embry's eyes as the unspoken question of Jacob Black hung in the air.

"Let me just get the soda." Embry dug through his pocket and pulled out a sweaty dollar bill. Bella watched his long, lean back as he selected his soda and wondered what he thought of her, if he liked Jacob's new girlfriend better than her. But she wasn't about to bring up the subject.

Embry popped open his can of soda and took a huge swig. He wiped his mouth and gave Bella a knowing smile. "Okay, let's go."

The two wolves and the girl all crammed into the cab of Bella's truck. The groceries rode in the back.

"I wouldn't trust Quil with food back there," Embry had said as he smushed in beside Bella. "And I can't drink this outside. It might spill."

"So, what's going on with the pack these days," Bella asked faux-casually as she backed out of her parking spot. "Any new wolves?"

"Nope," said Quil, "No new wolves but Emily's cousin has been hanging around a lot lately."

Embry choked on his soda and began coughing. "Yeah, Claire has been around quite a bit lately. She's such a cutie, too, and Jake really likes her."

Bella eyes grew hot. Claire must be Jacob's new girlfriend. She tried to think of cold, diamonds; she tried to pretend her heart was ice but Embry's warm thigh was pressed up against hers and the ice kept melting.

The one stop light between Forks and the rez was red as she pulled up to it and Bella rolled down her window to let in some fresh air. The breeze filled the cab with the smell of pine trees.

"Oh, shit," said Quil. "Check it—" he sniffed the air. "—vampire?"

"What?" Bella slammed on the gas and started frantically scanning the road. "Where?" And then she smelled it, too. "EW!"

Quil casually rolled down his window and Embry burst out laughing.

"Sorry, Bella," he said. "We haven't house trained him yet."

Bella lifted her foot off the gas and the truck slowed back down to within the speed limit. Her heart was still racing and her palms were sweaty but as the fear drained it was replaced with something else—not the mistrust or anxiety she had been feeling all day but something lighter. Pressed up in the cab with the two giant boys and their bad jokes, she felt comfortable—at ease. Even if she still wasn't sure Embry liked her.

A small chuckle escaped her lips.

Bella was laughing.

She dropped off Quil first and then Embry.

"Thanks for the ride," he said. He climbed out of the cab and stood with the door open. "About Jake—"

"Oh, I don't want to bother him," Bella said, the heavy feeling returning to her chest. She looked straight ahead.

"—Billy wasn't feeling well and Jake took him to the doctor."

"Is he okay?"

"Maybe—maybe he would like it if you stopped by. To check in."

"I wouldn't want to bother him."

"No," said Embry with a certain finality. "You wouldn't be bothering him." He gave her a small grin and a wave. "See ya."

Should she or shouldn't she? Bella was suddenly nervous. What if Claire was over there? But if Embry had said… Bella turned the truck down Jacob's road.

The Rabbit was parked outside and the lights were on at the Black house as Bella pulled up. Her stomach was a knot as she jumped out of the cab. "Why did I think this was a good idea?" she hissed to herself.

But then Jacob appeared in the doorway, bathed in the light from inside. He gave a big wave and ran up to meet her, grabbing her in a big hug. She hugged back, enjoying his warmth.

"Long time no see, Bells," Jacob said as he pulled back. He gave her a lopsided smile.

Bella blushed, feeling shy as she remembered Claire. "I was in the neighborhood."

"Oh, really?" Jacob grinned at her. "Visiting Quil?"

"Well, I ran into Quil and Embry in Forks and gave them a ride home and they said something about Billy—"

Jacob's face fell. "Yeah, he's staying overnight for observation."

"Is there anything I can do?" Bella reached out and touched his arm.

Jacob smiled at her and covered her hand with his. "I'm okay," he said. "Thanks for coming by, though. Do you want to come in and hang out? I was going to order pizza."

"Actually," said Bella, "I was going to make dinner for Charlie but—do you want to come over? I mean if you don't have plans already—I don't think he'd mind." She looked at something over his shoulder, avoiding eye contact, afraid of what she would see there.

"What are you making?" Jacob's voice was even, betraying no emotion, and Bella took a step back.

"Oh, I was just going to, um—" She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

Jacob started laughing. "Of course, I'll come over! Just let me lock up." Bella was watching him with a confused expression. "Bells, you take everything so seriously—but you're so cute when you're flustered."

They climbed back into the truck and the radio blared to life as Bella started the engine.

"You let Embry pick the music?" Jacob reached for the dial to change the station.

"I'm not allowed to listen to hiphop now?"

"Oh—sorry, I didn't mean—"

Bella grinned at him. "You're so cute when you're flustered."

"Just for that, I'm cranking it."

And they drove off toward Forks with the windows down and Kanye blasting.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: All characters and the world of "Twilight" belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing—nothing! Not even a car.**

A/N _This is a plot bunny I had kicking around for a while – I hope you enjoy it. It's just slice of life stuff during the time-stretchy fluid __**Eclipse**__ I like to write in. Eventual Jacob/Bella because that is how I roll plus LOTS of wolf pack being their awesome selves._

_I did not invent the lyrics to "Free bird." That's all Skynard, baby!_

_Let me know if you're interested in a sequel. I kind of wrote myself into three chapters with a title like "Trio" but I could go on._

Billy came home with a new prescription but the doctor said it was nothing to worry about. "We just need to stay on top of this," she had told Jacob. "If your dad gets that pain again, you be sure to call me." Jacob gave a solemn nod and the doctor smiled at him. "You're a responsible boy, aren't you?" She patted his shoulder and went back to her rounds, leaving Jacob standing there with one more weight on his shoulders.

If Jacob was quieter than usual that night, Quil and Embry were louder to make up for it. Embry was sprawled on the couch reading a magazine and playing DJ with the radio. Quil was attempting tricks with a basketball.

"Do you think we should invite up some chicks on Saturday?" Quil asked as he tried to balance the ball on one finger.

"To the bonfire?" Embry didn't look up from his magazine.

"Yeah—I spend enough time at this sausage party." The ball fell and Quil kicked it back up with his foot.

"Maybe I should invite Bella," came Jacob's muffled voice from under the hood of his latest project.

Quil and Embry looked at one another.

"She was acting, like, weird the other night."

"Weird how?" asked Quil, ignoring the stone cold glare coming from Embry's side of the garage.

"She was—" Jacob turned around to face his two friends. "She was kind of paying attention to me."

Embry stopped looking pointedly at Quil and turned to face Jacob. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You know how she checks her phone a million times to see if Edward has called?"

Neither Quil nor Embry had noticed that but they nodded politely in agreement.

"Well, last night, she didn't." Jacob scratched his nose, leaving an oily mark. "And she kept looking at me when she thought I wouldn't notice."

"I think you're overanalyzing, dude." Embry turned back to his magazine to avoid eye contact. "Maybe you had something in your teeth and she just didn't want to tell you."

"But, what if—what if she is starting to like me?" The pleading quality in Jacob's voice was unmistakable.

"Think fast!" Quil chucked the ball directly at Jacob's head. He caught it with one hand and stared at it moodily.

"Maybe you just need to show her what she'll be missing," said Embry. "Like if you weren't around all the time."

"Yeah," Quil chimed in. "Like if you invite her to the bonfire and then show her how much fun you're having while she's moping in a corner."

Embry shot Quil a warning glance, which he promptly ignored. "No, I don't think that's—'sup, Bella."

The lady herself was standing in the garage door. "Hi, guys," she said, looking at Jacob. "I guess I'm getting stealthier."

"Or the music was too loud—I didn't hear the truck," Jacob said, a small grin bringing a little light to his face.

"I'm here with Charlie—I guess the cruiser is quieter." Bella wandered over to where Embry was sitting. "So, you're having girl troubles?" She was blushing.

"Maybe we had better leave you two—" Embry started to get up.

"No, it's okay." Bella put her hand on Embry's arm. "I'm glad you guys consider me part of your gang now. I can talk about this stuff—give you a girl's opinion. So, is it Claire?"

Embry froze in horror as he watched Jacob's face twist up in confusion. Bella, true to form, was looking at her shoes. Thankfully, neither of them saw Quil, who was desperately trying to hold back a case of the giggles.

"Claire?" Jacob was trying to fit the pieces together.

"Embry told me."

"Embry told you?"

"Don't be mad at him! I wish you would have told me yourself but—"

"Embry told you about—Claire?"

"Yeah, don't be mad, Jake." Quil was barely holding it together.

"Why would I be mad?" It wasn't a question. Jacob launched himself over the couch and tackled Embry, who had been trying to casually make his way to the door.

"I've got 5 on Jake." Quil said between giggles.

Bella ignored the bet and the fight. "Why didn't Embry want Jake to invite Claire to the bonfire?"

"He doesn't think Claire really likes Jake; he thinks she's just using him."

"What? How could somebody do that to Jake?"

"I don't know. Embry thinks she's just using him as a back-up to make this other guy jealous."

Bella looked like she was holding something back. "What do you think?" she asked.

"What do I think?" Quil thought about it. "I think you should come to the bonfire," he said, finally. "Maybe you'll have fun—and show Claire a thing or two."

"Bella? Last train to Clarksville, leaving now." Charlie's voice cut through the garage.

"I have to go," she said.

"We'll pick you up on Saturday," said Quil. "We owe you a ride, anyways."

"Okay—" Bella gave one last look to Jacob, who was trying to get Embry into a chokehold and didn't see her, and smiled up at Quil. "—see you then."

And Bella didn't even trip on her way out the door.

"Now, where are you going again?" Charlie inspected Bella's very sensible outfit of jeans, a tank top, and a hoodie.

"Um—a bonfire down at La Push." She bit her lip. Jacob hadn't called her since that day in the garage but she had figured he was probably just busy with Claire. And nobody had told her she was uninvited to the bonfire…

"And who is going to be there?" He put his hand on his hip, where his gun rested when he was on duty – not that Charlie was ever off duty.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I don't know—just, like, Jake, Embry, Quil…"

"What about your boy? Edward?"

"No—he doesn't get along with this gang." Bella's stomach tensed in guilt. She had been really grumpy with him last night, turning away as he tried to kiss her forehead, but his cold exterior sucked up all her heat. Edward smelled of perfume and it fogged her senses. Now, her nostrils took in the scent of the hamburgers she had made for Charlie's dinner and her stomach growled. When had she eaten last?

Charlie nodded in approval. "Well, then. You have Jake bring you home before midnight and call home first and then the station if for any reason he can't drive."

"Dad! We're not going to get drunk! We're just hanging out on the beach!"

"Hey, I was 18, too, once upon a time." Charlie smiled. "I may be old but I'm not senile—yet."

Bella's cell phone started buzzing. She checked the name - Edward.

"When they get here, I'm walking you out," Charlie said. "Better to put the fear of God in them before the festivities."

Bella gestured for him to be quiet and took the phone into the other room.

"Hello?"

"Bella—please reconsider this outing. I can't protect you on enemy territory." He paused. "And I don't trust their motives."

"I'll be fine—I owe Jake this much. To help him be happy."

"He has so much already, Bella, and all I have is you. I can't lose you."

"You won't lose me—I'm just going to a bonfire. And I'll check in."

"At least let me drop you off and hand you over to the mutt myself."

"I'm not your toy, Edward."

"No, not a toy—but you do belong to me." Like Claire belongs to Jacob now?

Bella felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "I have to go." She clicked off the phone and powered it down.

"Come on, sweetie, your ride is here," said Charlie, not unkindly.

Outside was a well-used van. Quil was driving. "There's plenty of room, Bella!" He waved out the window and then turned to shove the boy beside him. "Embry, get in the back. Ladies ride in front."

Embry clambered out and held the door open for Bella.

"You boys be good, now," Charlie didn't need to raise his voice. "I know where you live—Call, Ateara."

"Yes, sir," said Quil with a grin.

"I mean it now. Have her home by midnight at the latest."

"I'll be fine," Bella called over her shoulder. And you'll be safer without me here, she thought.

Quil backed out of the driveway at a respectful pace but as soon as they were out of sight of the Swan house, he hit the gas pedal. The windows were open and Quil had the classic rock station blasting.

"So where is Jake?" Bella asked.

Embry casually leaned forward to crank the volume.

_If I leave here tomorrow _

_Would you still remember me? _

"Dude, you should just tell her." Quil turned the radio back down.

"No, you should tell her—_and this bird you cannot change_."

"Tell me what? Did something happen to Jake? Is Billy okay?" Bella heart started beating faster as all the possibilities raced through her mind.

"Well, the thing is—" began Quil, glancing at Embry in the rearview mirror. "The thing is that Embry may have, um, not told the complete truth the other day."

"Oh, sure, blame me! Look, Bella, when you came over the other day I was dozing and _may_ have been a little confused when you woke me up—"

"Where is Jake?"

"See, that's what we wanted to talk to you about. He likes you, Bella_—like_ likes you." Embry was still drumming his fingers in time with the beat.

"And it drives us crazy to be stuck inside his head and seeing you all the time."

Bella wished she could sink down into her seat and disappear. Or maybe she could open the van door and take a tumbling roll. Or call Edward to save her. She fingered the phone in her pocket.

"So, I may have lied about the girlfriend thing," Embry said finally.

"Jake doesn't have a girlfriend." Bella tried to wrap her head around the thought and felt… relief.

"Nope," said Quil.

"And Jake doesn't know that I thought that he did."

"He didn't know that you thought he did until the other day."

"Actually, Jake doesn't know you're coming tonight," said Embry.

"WHAT? Take me home, now." Bella dug her phone out of her pocket and powered it on.

"Hey, listen to us—it's not Jake's fault. And we were only trying to look out for him. Don't punish Jake for stuff we did." Embry had one hand on her shoulder. The heat felt good on her cold skin. Is this how Edward felt when she touched him? She shoved Embry's hand off.

"I'm telling Jake what you did," Bella said finally. "And then he can take me home."

They rode in silence the rest of the way to the beach.

The flames of the bonfire gave the evening sky a rosy tinge. Bella picked Jacob out immediately in the crowd—he was so tall and so proud. His hair fluttered a bit in the breeze. She tried to walk quietly up behind him but he heard her coming and turned around to sweep her up into a big hug.

"Bella! You came!" he mumbled. The joy in his voice made Bella's stomach hurt. She was supposed to come out here to help Jacob be happy, was she going to take it away just because it wasn't the happiness she had expected?

She stayed in his arms and rested her head on his chest, comforted by the fact that he still _like_ liked her. "Quil and Embry brought me."

"I don't see them." He pulled away to look for his friends.

"They're probably hiding." And then realizing what she had said, she clamped a hand in front of her mouth.

"Hiding, why? What did they tell you?"

Bella just shook her head. "Nothing—" she bit her lip. "Just that they made all that stuff up."

"Oh." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "And you're not mad? I wanted to tell you but—I don't know. I guess I was scared that you wouldn't want to see me again and I don't see you that much as it is. Half a Bella is better than none."

"Jake, I—" The phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. Edward.

"Big Brother? You can answer it—I can't bite him through the phone." Jacob gave her a sad smile and turned away. How was this helping anything? Half a Bella. She had been upset over one of her choices being taken away and now she was about to cry because he was back. She couldn't be half a Bella but which Bella did she want to be?

Bella stared at the phone until it went to voice mail. It started ringing again and Jacob turned back around. "Are you going to answer that?"

"I don't know."

Jacob looked at her. "He'll think we've eaten you—without silverware, because we're aboriginal like that."

"What if you did?" Bella asked. "Eat me, I mean. What if I went away? What would you do?"

"Did you hit the keg already?" Jacob's attempt at humor fell flat and a couple of tears made their way down Bella's cheeks. Her phone buzzed again and Jacob took it out of her hands and answered it.

"Hey… She's peeing… I'm not being crude on purpose… Whatever. Look, I'll tell her you called… She's fine, Eddie… Bye."

He handed the phone out to Bella. "Here, I said you were peeing."

"I heard," sniffed Bella. "Thanks."

"Look, you don't have to decide anything tonight, okay? Just have a good time—watch me pummel Quil and Embry a bit." Jacob ran his hands through his hair. "I just like to see you happy."

Bella stood on her tiptoes and gave Jacob a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks," she said. "It's been a while since I've had a good time."

"Well, you deserve one—you can't protect the world from yourself every night."

She looked at him thoughtfully. She did have a good time with Jacob, when she let herself. It was a totally different feeling from the painful euphoria of being so close to and yet so apart from Edward. Even when she touched Edward, there was a distance. Jacob never held anything back. She grabbed his hand.

"Maybe you can pummel Quil and Embry another time. Let them hide for a while longer."

Jacob grinned down at her. "Tell me something, though, when you thought I had a girlfriend—you were jealous, weren't you?"

Bella blushed. "No—of course I wasn't. I was just protective."

"You are such a bad liar, Bella Swan," Jacob laughed. "I don't know how you keep yourself in the dark about so many things."

Bella blushed harder.

"It's a good thing I think clueless is cute. For somebody so smart, you can be really dumb about stuff."

His hand was warm and she leaned closer to him. Everything else she could worry about another day.


End file.
